Aquaman
| equipment = Water-Bearers | first = 1 | voice = Khary Payton }} Aqualad (real name Kaldur'ahm) is the leader of Young Justice. He is an Atlantean and the protégé and subject of Aquaman. He has the ability to manipulate water at will and breathe underwater. Personality Aqualad is a very calm person, a trait unshared by the rest of his teammates. Soft spoken and clear-headed, he has a propensity to think things through and formulate plans before taking any sort of action. He tries to see the good in all people, and often acts as the voice of reason amongst his teammates, who are rarely if ever as cool minded as he is. Aqualad always speaks with an air of respect to all people, both young and old, and he demonstrates the utmost respect to all of the adult heroes of the Justice League (even when he disagrees with them). He holds Aquaman in higher regard due to being his king. He also also makes it an active duty to instill these respectful traits into his teammates, with the most notably being Robin. An example is when he nudged Robin to stop laughing at Superboy during his bout with Black Canary and telling Robin he needs to be more respectful when talking about other people. Still, despite his calm behavior, Aqualad is still a teenager, and can at times behave rashly and impulsively. This is of course what led to the team's first mission together. As team leader, Aqualad was considered by all his teammates to be the natural choice (eventually), and it is a burden that he considers only temporary and that eventually Robin will take command when he's ready. Although he has proven to be a natural leader, Aqualad seemed reluctant to take the job, calling it a heavy burden. Still, he accepted taking on the role, and has done rather well for the most part. Still, his leadership style is often more reactive, which causes him to constantly question whether or not the team is capable of handling most situations or even if they're capable of truly working as a team. Characteristics Aqualad is an Atlantean teen, with blond hair and a strong build. He possesses black eel-like tattoos that run across his back and along his arms and glow a bright blue when using his powers. Aqualad also has webbed hands and feet and possesses a pair of gills that allows him to breathe underwater. His superhero costume is a skin tight full body red and blue swimsuit that exposes his arms and feet. Aqualad also carries a waterpack that holds twin rods and water he can manipulate his rods and turn them into whatever he chooses but most oftenly creates twin water blades. History Early Life Prior to the creation of Young Justice, the villain known as the Ocean Master had attacked Atlantis, causing Aquaman to do battle with him. During the fight, Aquaman looked on the verge of defeat, but was suddenly helped by the combined forces of Kaldur'ahm and Garth, who had both been students at the Atlantis Conservatory of Sorcery under the guidance of Queen Mera. Using a combination of Garth's magic and Kaldur's fighting abilities, the two helped Aquaman defeat Ocean Master. After the victory, Aquaman offered the boys the opportunity to become his proteges. However, while Kaldur jumped at the chance to serve his king as his sidekick, Garth declined the offer and returned to his studies. Kaldur meanwhile became Aqualad. Present On July 4, Aqualad and Aquaman defeated the villainess Killer Frost at Pearl Harbor. Later the same day, he appeared at the Hall of Justice alongside Speedy, Robin, and Kid Flash where they were supposed to be receiving a tour of the League's headquarters. He, along with the other sidekicks, were surprised at Speedy's sudden outburst of how their mentors continued to treat them like children. After the League members left the Hall of Justice, he decided to accompany Robin and Kid Flash to Cadmus Labs. At Cadmus, the young heroes discover the genomorph project and Superboy, whom they freed and unintentionally install a battle (which they lost). Soon afterward, he convinced Superboy to free them from their pods and help them escape Cadmus. After fighting their way through the labs, the young heroes end up in a brawl against Blockbuster which in turn, destroyed the upper floors of Cadmus Labs. Aqualad is then present when the heroes decided to confront their mentors about the way they have been treated and how they are ready to prove themselves as heroes. On July 8, he along with Superboy, Robin, and Kid Flash are given their own headquarters in Mount Justice by Batman and introduced to Miss Martian. Later he was introduced to Artemis. Powers & Abilities Powers * Electricity Generation: He has the power to generate electricity from the eel tattoos on his arms, which he can channel through water or use as a direct offense against opponents. * Superhuman Strength: As an Atlantean, he possesses above average superhuman strength, as he was able to punch through solid concrete. * Hydrokinesis: Aqualad is able to manipulate water to serve any number of uses i.e. water blasts, whips, waves, shields, or water spouts to lift him into the air. He can manipulate water from a nearby source, like fire hydrants, lakes, etc or his waterpack. His water blasts are capable at slicing through metal and other materials. * Enhanced Durability: Most likely due to his Atlantean blood, he is able to sustain multiple blows from both Superboy and Blockbuster without tiring. This also allows him to withstand high water pressure. * Hard-Water Constructs: Aqualad has the unique ability to solidify water into a myriad of different weapons for physical attacks. So far he has created swords, maces, sledgehammers, and a small shield. This ability, like his hydrokinesis and electricity generation is powered by his eel tattoos. * Sea animal traits: Aqualad like most Atlantean's has a few sea animal traits. Like his ability to withstand most poisons due to the jellyfish toxins flowing through his blood. He is also known for being resistent to a certain level of pain because his skin is much denser than normal humans. * Superspeed Swimming: Aqualad's stregnth plus webbed hands and feet give him above average swimming speeds. * Underwater Breathing: Aqualad has the ability to breathe in water through the gill slits found on either side of his neck. * Sorcery: Before becoming Aquaman's sidekick, Aqualad was trained in the mystical arts by Queen Mera. However, because he left his studies to be a hero, his skills are apparently lacks. Equipment * Waterpack: A black metallic backpack that holds an unspecified amount of water that Aqualad can use. It also holds his Water-Bearers. * Water-Bearers: Twin hilts that can hold onto water which Aqualad then uses to create his hard-water weapons. They are also used as a type of water gun to shoot water from his waterpack and can be used to help manipulate sources of water. Relationships Aquaman Being the King of Atlantis' partner, Aqualad sees Aquaman as a ruler, a mentor and a father figure. He was saddened upon learning that his king had kept vital information of the Justice League from him. The two however have since then repaired their friendship and partnership, with Aquaman offering Aqualad advise on relationships, love, and duty. Superboy Because of Aqualad's more soft-spoken nature (compared to Robin and Kid Flash) and his ability to empathize with others, he was able to convince Superboy to free them, as well as go with them as they made their escape. It seems as though he will continue to help Superboy adjust to normal life, as evidenced when he suggested for Superboy to "just say sorry" to Miss Martian when he overreacted to her use of telepathy. Robin Due to being one of the oldest members of the team, is naturally the team's big brother. This relationship is most obvious between him and Robin. While Aqualad is the mature rational older brother, Robin behaves far more impulsively and immature, which often results in Aqualad having to keep him in-check. However, despite their extreme differences in personality, the pair of them get along very well, showing great respect for each other. When time came for the team to chose a field leader, Robin initially saw himself as the most appropriate leader of the team, citing his greater experience despite being the youngest member of the team. However, Aqualad explained that Robin's experience and his strong working relationship with Batman meant that Robin assumed his teammates could follow his plans without much explanation, whereas the team really needed a leader who would be clear. Robin instead suggested that Aqualad should be the team's leader, and Aqualad accepted. Nevertheless, Aqualad claimed that Robin was a natural leader and would one day be ready to take control of the team. Miss Martian Aqualad is Miss Martian's teammate and an earnest friend. He is the first to reveal his real name to her, and he sometimes helps her with unfamiliar aspects of Earth culture. Miss Martian has mentioned that she looks at Aqualad like an older brother. Garth Aqualad is best friends with Garth back in Atlantis and they along with Tula trained together at Atlantean Conservatory of Sorcery under Queen Mera. When Kaldur'ahm became Aquaman's protege he left his studies and carried out his responsibilities as Aqualad, and later joined Young Justice. During this time, Garth and Tula began dating, which hurt Aqualad who also had feelings for Tula. Tula Tula is Aqualad's former love-interest/crush from Atlantis. They, along with Garth trained together at the Atlantean Conservatory of Sorcery, until Aqualad was offered the role of Aquaman's sidekick. Aqualad thought long of Tula, who he had feelings for, and considered leaving Young Justice for her. He returned to the team however, when he realizes she and Garth had begun a relationship. Black Manta Black Manta was revealed to be Aqualad's father. It is unknown how Aqualad feels about this, or if he even knows. Appearances Trivia *Although Kaldur'ahm is introduced as the only Aqualad in Young Justice, in the comics his counter part is in fact the second person to carry the name. The original Aqualad was instead Garth, who would later go onto become Tempest, and then be killed off during the events of the Geoff Johns' series Darkest Night. *This version of Aqualad was specifically created for this series, with his comic counterpart being made after this character was created but before the show actually aired. Aqualad's comic book counterpart, Jackson Hyde, made his debut in Geoff Johns' series Brightest Day. *Aqualad's Atlantean name, Kaldur'ahm, is a reference to an existing DC Comics character named Cal Durham, a supporting character from the Aquaman family of books. *Aqualad is the only one who calls Miss Martian by her real name, M'gann, rather than her Earth name, Megan. *Aqualad doesn't seem to use contractions, as an example he says "you are" instead of "you're". *Aqualad's father is revealed to be the Black Manta, Aquaman's enemy. * Weisman, Greg (2011-03-10). "Question #13106". Ask Greg. Retrieved 2011-03-12. References Category:Atlanteans Category:Characters Category:Superhero Category:Male Category:Young Justice